1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a system, electronic device and method capable of using impulse radio technology to track the movement of athletes and/or to enable secure communications to take place between the athletes and their teammates, fans or coaches.
2. Description of Related Art
In a sports environment, it would be desirable to have a system that can track the positions of athletes (e.g., football players, baseball players, soccer players, hockey players and the like) as they move on a field (e.g., football field, baseball diamond, soccer field, hockey rink and the like) and at the same time with the same type of technology enable secure communications to take place between these athletes and their teammates, fans or coaches. Unfortunately, to date there does not appear to be any tracking system that can effectively track the movement of one or more athletes on a field. In addition, to date there does not appear to be any communications system that can effectively enable one or more athletes to communicate in a secure manner with their teammates, fans or coaches. As such, there does not appear to be any conventional system that can track athletes and at the same time enable the athletes to communicate in a secure manner with their teammates, fans or coaches. Accordingly, there is a need for a system, electronic device and method that tracks a moving athlete and/or enables secure communications to occur between an athlete and their teammates, fans or coaches. These needs and other needs are satisfied by the present invention.
The present invention includes a system, electronic device and method that utilizes the positioning capabilities of impulse radio technology to track one or more moving athletes. The movement of these athletes can be displayed on a television, a handheld unit or an Internet site. In addition, the present invention can utilize the communication capabilities of impulse radio technology to enable secure communications to take place between an athlete and their teammates, fans or coaches. The athletes can include, for example, track and field athletes, baseball players, football players, basketball players, soccer players or hockey players.